New Colorado Big Game Season Structure 2020 - 2026

[Karl Blanchard]

Just give up chris. He's a resident so he knows better than you. That bull you posted from 2 years ago obviously is from a google search image and not killed by a very well respected member of this forum and that bull definitely wasnt hanging in a bachelor group of 5 other legal bulls in a dark patch of timber on a north face hiding from all the hunters walking circles far below

[nwwanderer]

Might want to check out CO conditions, snow (or hail) one day may lead to 75 the next, very fickle climate that can have its way with you.  Be careful out there

[Karl Blanchard]

Might want to check out CO conditions, snow (or hail) one day may lead to 75 the next, very fickle climate that can have its way with you.  Be careful out there

and snow can hang in that dark timber for a long time even if the weather warms. I found snow at 8k feet in the trees in Idaho last weekend and it was 81 out that day. That mountain life is a fun one

[NWCoho]

Well I got to meet Karl and his hunting party a few years ago in CO through a friend.  Funny thing is we had been hunting the general area for years but had never ran into each other.  Now that i know who they are i see them on the roads but never run into them in the woods.  I think they're road hunters .  I see a lot of the same animals that Karl speaks of and i can tell you what he is saying is true.  I understand and i'm sure he does as well there is always the fact you could have missed or spooked the animal.  I say the same thing about the elk.  My Kid last year said your that sure i could get a nice elk i'll go.

My hunting buddy has lived in the area we hunt for 37 years and the other is the local warden.  They tell me how it was and the good old days but also tell me how the out of state rev really helps CPW and the area.  I would think that's true in every state that gets some OOS hunters. 

I think the biggest thing is as hunters we need to stick together if we all get into my state crap we will all loose something we love to do.  We have seen it with trapping, hound hunting and gun laws.  We all get the frustration of the points and seasons but all we can do is give them our 2 cents and move forward and enjoy what we get.

Those are a couple nice bucks thanks for sharing.

pic of last years elk. It was rather warm but still some snow.

[jetjockey]

Killing an elk now and then, and being able to kill an elk every single year, are two totally different things.  If you can, good for you! Your one of the 0.1%.  But I don’t believe it when someone says they can kill an elk every single year, but they don’t even have tag.  Reminds me of the guy who says he killed an elk at 500 yards, when in reality it’s a 250 yard shot.  As far as seeing elk, I see elk every year as well, with the one exception of the year it was hot.  And I don’t mean it warmed up a little after it snowed.  I mean it was 80 in the valley, 70 at 11,000ft, and there hadn’t been any moisture to even knock the leaves off the scrub oak. Hunting with snow on the ground doesn’t constitute “hot”. Riding a horse wishing you had shorts and a tee shirt on in mid Oct because your sweating you balls off is hot.  That doesnt mean I can kill elk every year.  There’s a reason the average unit has about 12% success rate on bulls.  So when someone tells me they can shoot a bull EVERY year, I find that hard to believe, even in CO.  Btw.   The first picture is my spotted at about 1800 yards.  It’s the big white one in the middle.  The second is at about 5 yards after he got caped. Seeing elk in CO is typically very easy, killing them is where it gets a lot more difficult.

[Karl Blanchard]

Why would I buy an elk tag when I am go there to hunt deer I could care less about bulls. There could be 350 bulls around every corner and I still wouldn't buy an elk tag. Those who know me, know that is not an exaggeration. I guess you know me and my successes better than all the guys chiming in who actually hunt with me or guys who know the camp

[BULLBLASTER]

Why would I buy an elk tag when I am go there to hunt deer I could care less about bulls. There could be 350 bulls around every corner and I still wouldn't buy an elk tag. Those who know me, know that is not an exaggeration. I guess you know me and my successes better than all the guys chiming in who actually hunt with me or guys who know the camp

I guess the bull in the picture i posted wasn’t actually shot at 990 yards either Karl. We’ve been fooled all these years.    I am guessing we can assume the same for the buck I killed last year at 730 yards. Musta been like 230 or so.  if I even killed it at all.

[Karl Blanchard]

Why would I buy an elk tag when I am go there to hunt deer I could care less about bulls. There could be 350 bulls around every corner and I still wouldn't buy an elk tag. Those who know me, know that is not an exaggeration. I guess you know me and my successes better than all the guys chiming in who actually hunt with me or guys who know the camp

I guess the bull in the picture i posted wasn’t actually shot at 990 yards either Karl. We’ve been fooled all these years.    I am guessing we can assume the same for the. Yak I killed last year at 730 yards. Musta been like 230 or so.  if I even killed it at all.

I just wish I had my old phone because this thread would be 12 pages of CO stuff both dead and alive

[jetjockey]

Why would I buy an elk tag when I am go there to hunt deer I could care less about bulls. There could be 350 bulls around every corner and I still wouldn't buy an elk tag. Those who know me, know that is not an exaggeration. I guess you know me and my successes better than all the guys chiming in who actually hunt with me or guys who know the camp

Your in the 1% of the 1%.  Congratulations.  You do what residents on private ranches  have a tough time doing, and you do it at nearly 10x the state average, in OTC units none the less.  Like I said, killing elk in CO is one thing, having a 100% success rate for 10 years in a row, well that’s just a little hard to imagine. Even the Ranching For Wildlife tags don’t have that success rate, because crap happens!

[whacker1]

Thank you all for the entertainment.  There is no doubt that the change in format on front loading the cost to back end funding the cost of tags has increased participation in the application process, but even those states that still require full funding are seeing increase in applications.  The economy has been good for a long time and people have money again and they are spending it.  I am really curious what this all looks like at different benchmarks.  I don't think we will see any significant difference in 5 years, continued point creep is my guess.  In 10 years, including a recession of some sort in there at some point, that will be the tell tail sign as to what participation and drawing non-resident and resident tags looks like.  25 years........well then nearly all of the baby boomers will be nearing the end of their hunting career with the youngest being 80.  So between the next 15-25 years, I am curious to see what point creep looks like.

[jetjockey]

Why would I buy an elk tag when I am go there to hunt deer I could care less about bulls. There could be 350 bulls around every corner and I still wouldn't buy an elk tag. Those who know me, know that is not an exaggeration. I guess you know me and my successes better than all the guys chiming in who actually hunt with me or guys who know the camp

I guess the bull in the picture i posted wasn’t actually shot at 990 yards either Karl. We’ve been fooled all these years.    I am guessing we can assume the same for the buck I killed last year at 730 yards. Musta been like 230 or so.  if I even killed it at all.

Wait, you killed your bull at 990 yards?  And that’s what you consider “kill an elk every year”?  Well hell, if that’s the case, I could kill an elk every year off my back patio, during hunting season; with a tag!”  And yes, I have permission to hunt it!  But that’s not what 90% of hunters think when you say “kill an elk every year”!

This was taken off my back patio.  And there was at least one 330”+ bull in the herd.

[jjhunter]

I’ve only killed 1 mule deer in Colorado on 6 tags.  What percentile does that put me in?   

[jetjockey]

I’ve only killed 1 mule deer in Colorado on 6 tags.  What percentile does that put me in?   

That makes you a normal hunter, and about average for success rates.  Considering all the private land tags, guided tags, etc, that’s actually not too bad if you did it on your own. Here’s a couple more that I “could” have *censored*.  This guy was at about 750-800 yards.  I don’t remember exactly, but there was no way to get to him. I don’t consider that an “opportunity” since I draw the line at 500 yards on my range finder.

[kentrek]

This is getting good 

[jetjockey]

This is getting good 

Here’s another group I was “in”.  “In” being about 1200 yards! 🤣🤣